Brad Stevens' eye-opening admission on Celtics' Pacers sweep
06/25/2024 07:52 PM
The Boston Celtics won their 18th NBA championship slightly more than a week ago after dominating the NBA during the regular season and putting on one of the best performances in league postseason history.
Celtics president Brad Stevens on the Pacers (via @PatMcAfeeShow):
"The Pacers were really good. We could've come back to Boston down 3-1. They had a heck of a team."
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 25, 2024
They vanquished the Dallas Maverick in five games in the NBA Finals, and the triumph in the concluding game at TD Garden set off a wild celebration throughout Boston and the rest of New England. The Celtics roared through the playoffs by beating the Miami Heat in five games, the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, sweeping the Indiana Pacers in 4 straight and then taking care of the Mavericks.
While the series against the Pacers was the only sweep, it was the one that gave the Celtics brass the biggest headaches. General manager Brad Stevens wiped his brow when thinking about the Pacers series, because Indiana kept all but one game very close. Stevens said it was conceivable that the Pacers could have had a 3-1 lead after four games instead of being swept out of the playoffs.
“The Pacers were really good. We could’ve come back to Boston down 3-1. They had a heck of a team.”
Pacers could have jumped Celtics in Game 1 of ECF
A look back at the Pacers series reveals that Stevens was not exaggerating about how much trouble the visitors gave the Celtics in the series opener.
The Celtics pulled out a 133-128 overtime victory in that game as Jayson Tatum scored 36 points. He was joined by Jrue Holiday who scored 28 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 points to pace the offense. The game was close throughout, but the Pacers took charge in the final moments of the fourth quarter.
They appeared to be on their way to a victory as they built a 117-114 lead in the final seconds. After a timeout, the ball found its way to Brown in the corner with 6 seconds remaining. The eventual NBA Finals MVP calmly nailed the three-point shot and the Celtics were able to tie the score.
Boston’s defense prevented Indiana from winning the game at the end of regulation and allowed the team to take charge in the extra session.
After breather in Game 2, the Celtics were pushed to the limit in Games 3 and 4
The Celtics were on high alert in Game 2 of the series. They had lost the second game to both the Heat and the Cavaliers on the Garden floor, and they did not want the same pattern to develop in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Celtics built a six-point lead at halftime and then took charge in the second half. They answered every Pacers challenge and pulled out a 126-110 triumph. Brown scored a playoff career high 40 points to lead the way as Tatum and Derrick White both added 23 points.
The Pacers came out with a head of steam in Game 3 at home, but Holiday came through when the game was on the line with a 3-point play with 38.9 seconds to play as Boston pulled out a 114-111 triumph.
The Celtics completed the sweep with a 105-102 in Game 4 with another late rally. White hit the tie-breaking 3 pointer with 43 seconds left to send the Celtics to the title round.
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